Disposable waste holder



July 15, 1969 R. L. PROPST ETA!- 3,455,529

DISPOSABLE WASTE HOLDER Filed July 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l /U z4- A /4wmwmq U INVENTOR$ 06597 z. PE

d4/WES 0 445115;

July 15, 1969 PRQPST EI'AL DISPOSABLE WASTE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 28, 1966 s X mi w m 5 mi w NP 0 1M0 J; W Z A M 5 7 Y B U.S.Cl. 248-100 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A disposable wastestructure comprising a supporting frame adapted to be mounted either inexposed fashion on a wall or within a cabinet in slidable fashion. Thestructure is provided at its interior with a series of spherical baggedkeepers from which disposable paper or the like bags are suspended withthe mouth of the bag in open fashion. The rear keepers have a necksection of sufficient size to permit storage of bags thereon forsequential use within the structure. It is understood that this abstractis not to be utilized to limit the scope of this disclosure.

This invention relates to waste holders and, more particularly, todisposable waste holders which may be discarded along with the articleswhich have been deposited in them when they are filled.

In a number of different types of institutions, particularly inhospitals, a great deal of emphasis is accorded to premise sterility.That is to say, that any accumulation of germs in a particular area ishighly undesirable, particularly where the environment is such thatthese germs may be spread by body contact, air and the like. Aparticular problem has been encountered insofar as regards the disposalof waste products such as tissues, disposable sheets, and disposabletowels. In any given room these articles may, and usually are, depositedin suitable waste containers which are periodically emptied. It israther obvious that these containers become contaminated through thisprocess and must be periodically disinfected in order to maintainminimum sterility standards.

The particular container which is utilized for intermittent storage ofthe disposables may take the form of a conventional metal can, alaunderable cloth bag, or any of several other types of suitablecontainers. Each time these containers are emptied, and particularlywhen patients within a given room are changed, these containers must besterilized along with the entire room, an operation involving muchexpense and an unusual amount of direct labor costs.

In order to simplify the decontaminating procedures for these types ofdisposal units, it has become customary in many hospitals to utilizedisposable bags for lining the containers in which the waste materialsare to be deposited. When a particular bag is filled, it is simplyremoved from the container and discarded along with the waste materialscontained therein. While these disposable bags have done a great dealtowards improving the sterility conditions of waste disposals andreducing the labor costs involved in sterilizing them, they have notproved satisfactory for a variety of reasons.

First, and perhaps most important, no means have ever been developedwhereby the liner bags may be easily affixed at their opening edges tothe container in which they are intended to serve as a liner. Secondly,even though the container has been lined, the relatively high sterilityrequirements necessitate sterilization of the container itself with eachchange of patient and sometimes at each change of liner. Thirdly, oncethe lines nited States Patent F 3,455,529 Patented July 15, 1969 havebeen positioned within the container they have a tendency to tear awayat their opening edges, thus allowing waste material to spill into thecontainer and further contaminate it. Fourthly, when the bags are beingremoved for disposal they tend to tear easily, often resulting in wastematerial being scattered, not only on the inside of the containeritself, but over the surrounding premises.

Another problem with existing liners is that they are difficult tomanipulate, often forcing the operator to come into contact with thewaste materials when attempting to remove and close the liner.

The rather obvious solution to a number of the prior art defectsoutlined above, is to fabricate the bag or liner from a heavier materialwhich will not be so sus ceptible to ripping and tearing when beinghandled. This solution, however has not been practical heretoforebecause of the lack of suitable means for afiixing the relativelyunpliable opening edges of the bag to the container.

This invention eliminates these problems by providing a readilyremovable liner support so designed that the liner can be readilyattached and removed without rupture of the liner and without contactbetween the operators hands and the liners contents. It permits theliner to be closed before it is fully detached from its support. Theinvention permits the top or mouth of the liner to be so reinforced thatripping is prevented, handling is facilitated, and yet the main body ofthe container remains sufficiently flexible to be readily handled.

These and other objects of this invention will be fully understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top of the liner bag;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the plane IIIIof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the manner in which theliner bag is attached or removed from its supporting frame;

FIG. 4 is a plan-view of the support frame with the liner bag attachedthereto;

FIG. 5 is a front-elevational view of a typical cabinet fixture havingthe support frame and disposable bag positioned therein;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane VI-VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along plane VIIVII ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a wall showing the cabinetfixture afiixed thereto;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view indicating the shape of the keeperelements and the manner in which they are afiixed to the support bar;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified support frame;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the modified support frame having anumber of disposable containers mounted thereon;

FIG. 12 is a broken plan view partially in cross-section of a modifiedstorage cabinet designed for reception of the modified support frame;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line XIIIXIIIof FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line XIVXIV ofFIG. 12.

Briefly, this invention utilizes a cabinet-like fixture, preferablydetachably wall-hung, having a support frame slidably disposed thereinand supported thereby. The support frame has a plurality of bag keeperelements aflixed thereto which mate in accordian fashion with the keeperapertures in the disposable bag. The keeper elements are disposed on theframe such that they engage the bag as it is moved into open positionand release the bag as it is moved into the closed position.

Referring now to the figures, a preferred embodiment of this inventionwill be described in detail. FIG. 1 shows the upper section of a baghaving accordian folded sides 11. Bag 10 has a back panel 12 and a frontpanel 13 which are connected in conventional manner by the accordianfolding sides 11. Reinforcing strips 1-4 and 14a are secured such as bygluing to the outer upper edges of each of the back and front panelsrespectively as indicated in FIG. 1. In these strips are punched aplurality of supporting apertures 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d. Thesesupporting apertures may be punched conveniently by merely forcing twoties into the bag when its sides 11 are in closed position. This, ofcourse, results in a series of closure and guide apertures 16a, 16b, 16cand 16d in the side walls of the liner. The relative alignment of thesupporting apertures and the closure and guide apertures are such thatwhen the top of the bag is in folded positioni.e. with the accordiansides collapsedthe four apertures on each side thereof will be aligned.Thus, the punching operation may be effected in a single stroke, formingall the apertures simultaneously. The bottom of the bag (not shown) ispreferably pointed so as to permit opening and closing of the mouththereof with relative ease.

Referring now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 9, the support frame 20 has a rearsection 21, a pair of sides sections 22 extending perpendicularlytherefrom at the extremeties thereof, and a pair of short front sections23, which converge towards each other parallel to rear section 21. Thesupport frame is preferably bent from a single piece of material whichmay be rod or tube and may have any convenient cross-sectionalconfiguration.

Afiixed to each of the inner facing surfaces of rear section 21 andfront sections 23, are a pair of keeper knobs or elements 24a, 24b, 24cand 24d. As indicated best in FIG. 9, keeper elements 24 are sphericalin shape and are affixed to their respective support frame sections byany convenient means such as welding. Such welding forms a shoulder 25,which supports the bag after its keeper receiving aperture 15 has beenpushed over the keeper. The spherical shape of the knobs 24 provides asmoothly increasing cross section at either side thereof to assist inplacing the bag thereonto or removing it therefrom without fear oftearing the boundary portions of apertures 24. The apertures 15a, 15b,15c and 15d are punched slightly smaller than the keeper knobs. Thiscreates a slight resistance to installation and a small but positiverestraint against detachment.

Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6, 7, and 8, there is shown a cabinet-likefixture 30, having a hingedly mounted top 31, sides 32 and a back 34. Abottom 33 is illustrated, but it is not essential. Back 34 may be hungon the wall 35 in any conventional manner. The bottom 33 is preferablyelevated from the floor to facilitate cleaning thereunder.

As shown best in FIGS. 6 and 7, Support frame 20 is slidably receivedwithin sides 32 of cabinet by means of a pair of facing grooves 36,which preferably extend the entire depth of the cabinet-like fixture 30.Support frame 20 may be slid into fixture 30 by merely aligning its rearsection 21 with the facing grooves 36 and pushing it rearwardly. Thesides sections 22 of support frame 20 are slidably engaged by receivinggrooves 36 and thus positive vertical support within fixture 39. It willbe obvious, that when support bar 20 is utilized in this fashion, itmust be fabricated from sulficiently rigid material to retain sidesections 22 in their expanded position, and preventing the front of thesupport frame from being pulled free of receiving grooves 36.

In use, support fixture 30 is mounted on any convenient wall within theconfines of the room to be serviced. Its open front allows its innerfaces to be thoroughly and easily disinfected prior to insertion ofsupport bar 20. A sterilized support bar is then slidably inserted intoretaining grooves 36 by merely holding it horizontally and sliding itthrough the open front of fixture 30 into the grooves 36. The supportframe 20 is slid rearwardly until its rear section 21 abuts the rearsection 34 of fixture 30 (see FIG. 6). If necessary, additional verticalsupport may be gained by providing another groove in the interior faceof rear panel 34 for receiving rear section 21 of support frame 20.

A disposable bag 10 is then inserted into the fixture by placing theindex fingers of each hand into the accordian folded side 1 and grippingthe front and rear panels of the bag with the thumbs and forefingersrespectively. Keeper receiving apertures 15a and 151) are then pushedover spherical keeper elements 24a and 24b. The apertures, beingslightly smaller than the keeper elements or knobs, produce a small butdistinct resistance to being pushed over the knobs. As the keeperreceiving apertures pass over their respective keepers, they slide downonto the restricted sections 25 thereof and are retained in fixedrelationship with respect to these keepers. Front panel 13 is thenpulled toward the installer until such time as keeper receivingapertures 15c and 15d mate with and are engaged by spherical keeperelements 240 and 24d. The disposable bag is then ready for use. Theslight resistance resulting from the size differential between theapertures and the keeper elements, provides a positive restraintpreventing the back of the bag from pulling free of the keeper elementsas the front wall of the bag is pulled forward and the sides unfolded.

After bag 16 has been filled, it may be removed by simply grasping thefront panel 13 and its associated sides 11, and pushing rearwardly withsuflicient force to disengage keeper apertures 15c and 15d fromspherical keeper elements 24c and 24d. The accordian-fold nature ofsides 11 allows the mouth of bag 10 to be sealed by merely pushing frontpanel 13 towards rear panel 12 (see FIG. 3). After the keeper receivingapertures 15c and 15d come into abutting relationship with keeperelements 24a and 24b, the operators grip may be changed to clench frontpanel 13 against rear panel 12. Keeper receiving apertures 15a and 15bare then pulled free from keeper elements 24a and 24b, and the bagremoved and discarded.

Should it be necessary or desirable to re-sterilize support frame 20 andfixture 30, support frame 20 may be removed by merely pulling itforwardly and thus sliding side sections 22 out of and free fromengaging relationship with receiving grooves 36. The inside of fixture30 may be disinfected and a recently sterilized support frame 20reinserted therein. Another bag 10 is placed on support frame 20 in anidentical manner.

It will be noted from FIG. 8 that fixture 30 also incorporates ahingedly mounted top 31. Top 31, when closed, serves to render thecontents of the bag invisible and thus improve the appearance of theentire unit.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 through 14 the details of a modified supportframe and enclosure therefor will be described. Support frame 40 differsfrom that previously illustrated in that it includes a widened rearsection 41 and a pair of elongated neck members 43 which support 'therear bag retainers 44. The widened rear sections 41 form, in conjunctionwith sections 45 of the frame, a pair of shoulders 42 which function inthe manner of drawer stops.

The provision of elongated necks 43 provide means whereby extra bags maybe stored within the cabinet. As indicated in FIG. 10, bags 10a, lilband have been inserted over rear keepers 44 and are retained there forstorage. The forwardmost bag 100. has been expanded and is ready toreceive waste material. When bag 10d becomes filled it may be removed inthe manner described previously and fresh bag 10c placed into wastereceiving position by merely pulling the forward side thereof off fromrear keepers 44 and engaging them on forward keepers 44 so as to expandthe bag in accordian fashion.

The cabinet 50 (see FIG. 12) differs from that previously described inthat the grooves in the sides thereof vary in depth between the frontand rear sections thereof.

A relatively deep groove 52 runs from the rear wall toward the front ofthe cabinet. As this groove approaches the front its depth issubstantially reduced as indicated at 51 to form a shoulder 55 againstwhich mating shoulder 42 on support 40 is adapted to abut when the frame40 is pulled from the cabinet 50 in drawer-like fashion. Thisconstruction permits frame 40 to be pulled from the cabinet and wastematerial inserted in the bag without the danger of pulling frame 40completely free from the cabinet and spilling the contents of the bag.The frame 40 may be inserted into the cabinet from the rear thereof orthe wide section may be inserted into the deep grooves 52 diagonally andthe arms bent upwardly so as to allow the frame to be aligned within thecabinet. In the latter case, of course, the resilient limit of the framemust not be exceeded.

While the support frame shown in FIG. incorporates two modifications, itwill be readily apparent that they are independent of each other. Thatis to say, that the elongated storage necks may be utilized without thestops 42 and the stops 42 may be utilized without the elongated storagenecks 43.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention and two modificationsthereof have been described in detail, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that a number of other modifications are possiblewithout departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. A disposable waste holder comprising: a frame having a back portionwith side portions extending forwardly from each extremity thereof andpartial front portions extending inwardly in converging fashion from theforward extremities of said side portions, said front portionsterminating short of abutment with one another to provide an opening forbag-like holder insertion and removal; said frame having a plurality ofbag retainer mounted thereon and extending inwardly thereof and arrangedto define a rectangular area therebetween, one of said retainersextending inwardly from each of said front portions of said frame, twoof said retainers extending inwardly from positions on said rear portionopposite from the retainers on said front portions; each of saidretainers having a head portion and a neck portion, said neck portionbeing adjacent said frame and of a lesser cross section than said headportion, the cross-sectional area of said head portions increasingsmoothly from the frame-removed extremity thereof to a holder retainingpoint and then joining said neck section; a bag-like holder havingapertures formed adjacent each side of its upper end, said aperturesbeing smaller than the cross section of said head portions at saidholder retaining point, the size differential being such that the headportions may be forced through said apertures without rupture of thesrurounding material of said holder.

2. A disposable waste holder as described in claim 1 wherein the frontand back top faces of said holders upper end have reinforcement stripsand said apertures are formed through said reinforcement strips.

3. A disposable waste holder as described in claim 2 wherein said holderhas side panels which fold inwardly in accordian fashion when the frontand back thereof are in abutting relationship, said apertures beingaligned in said front and back of said holder and extending through saidside panels.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein at least two of saidretainers have neck portions of sufficient length to permit storage of aplurality of said holders thereon.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said bag retainerseach comprise a generally spherically shaped knob affixed to saidsupport frame.

6. In combination with the disposable waste holder described in claim 1a fixture, said fixture comprising an open faced cabinet having a groovein each opposite interior face thereof, said grooves adapted to slidablyreceive and retain said side portions.

7. The combination asset forth in claim 6 wherein said frame is slidablewithin said grooves it may he slid into and out of said fixture indrawer-like fashion, and wherein said fixture and said support areprovided with stop means for preventing said support from slidingcompletely free from said fixture.

8. A disposable waste holder comprising: a frame having side portionsand a back portion; said frame having a plurality of bag retainersmounted thereon and extending inwardly thereof and arranged to define arectangular area therebetween; each of said retainers having a headportion and a neck portion, said neck portion being adjacent said frameand of a lesser cross section than said head portion; a bag-like holderhaving side panels which fold inwardly in accordion fashion when thefront and back thereof are in abutting relationship, the front and backfaces of said holders upper end having reinforcement strips in abutmenttherewith, said holder having apertures formed adjacent each side of itsupper end, said apertures being aligned in said front and back of saidholder, extending through said side panels, and passing through saidreinforcement strips, said apertures being smaller than said headportions, the size differential being such that the head portions may beforced through said apertures without rupture of the surroundingmaterial of said holder, at least two of said retainers having neckportions of sufficient length to permit storage of a plurality of saidholders thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,010,793 12/1911 Penniman 2481,180,225 4/1916 Bamman et a1. 24899 1,376,660 5/1921 Ward 2481001,751,229 3/1930 Bigelow 24899 X 1,800,052 4/1931 Brumbaugh 1263392,899,161 8/1959 Bayard 248101 1,345,750 7/1920 Beaumont 24217 X FOREIGNPATENTS 1,133,667 7/1962 Germany.

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner FRANK DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 211-57

